Down & Dirty, Final Weigh In – The Shrinking Jeans of Heather

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September 1, 2010 by heather

Last week, after being stuck at the same weight FOREVER, I decided to try a cleanse. I chose the Clean Program, and I modified it, hoping it would be something I could stick to…but I still had my doubts.  I had a liquid breakfast and then lunch and dinner followed the Elimination Diet, which is basically designed to exclude most foods that are known to cause allergic reactions or hamper digestion: gluten, dairy, coffee(still had a cup a day, I’m not THAT crazy), refined sugar, alcohol…and lots of other stuff everything that tastes good. At first I was super frustrated, because it was so limited. But after a day or two, it was strangely comforting. Very little guesswork. I ate a lot of black beans, chickpeas, lean chicken, cold water fish, quinoa and brown rice. AND A TON OF VEGETABLES.  And more watermelon than is probably normal.

I have to admit, there were a few times where I literally had bites of pasta centimeters from my mouth, but this time, I was actually able to set it down and walk away. I don’t know why. I’m not good with the whole ‘willpower’ thing.

Exercise this week stayed on track. I was worried my energy level wouldn’t be as high, but it was fine. The only time I felt tired was during one of my runs, and I think it was because I waited too long after breakfast.

The best part about this week is that I learned something about a different way of eating. I’ve heard a lot buzz around gluten free diets, but had never given it a second thought. It was…interesting. There are actually a lot of gluten free products out there, and I had the chance to try quite a few. Gluten free crackers? Good. Gluten free bread…ummm. The one I tried was NASTY. I did buy some rice flour and may attempt to make my own bread with it. For fun.

Will I keep this up? Probably not. I don’t think plans that entirely exclude certain types of food are necessarily good in the long term. Especially if you’re not allergic or sensitive to those foods.

I do love that I  feel refreshed and energetic, and it was totally the kick in the butt I needed.  I will definitely look to the Clean shakes to help me get back on track if I start straying. I will admit that I’m a little worried I’ll just automatically gain if I go back to eating the way I was…so I’m going to ease gluten and dairy back into my diet, but maybe just not is as great a quantity as before.

So, down to details. I LOST 4.6 pounds this week. Which, I do believe, brings me to my goal of losing 5 pounds for this challenge!

And, I did manage to stick with the shred, and my body DOES feel better. Much more toned. Not all the way, but I’m getting there.

You know, now that I think about it, this is the first time I’ve hit my challenge goal since Lose for Good last fall.

Challenge Start Weight: 174

Last Week’s Weight: 173

Today’s Weight: 168.4 (hello, 160’s, I’ve missed you!!)

Total Loss: 5.6 pounds!

I hope everyone else had a great week and I’m so looking forward to the next challenge!